Page 69 of End Game

“I’m sorry, Kayla. I didn’t mean to hurt you.”

She nodded, then glanced down at her clasped hands before meeting his eyes again.

He tilted his head, allowed a teasing note to enter his voice. “I thought I’d have to work a little harder.”

Her features softened, a little. “We’re both adults, Ash. Neither of us have time for teenage games.”

Leaning down, he kissed her forehead, lingered there long enough to pull her honey-vanilla scent into his chest. “Thank you,” he whispered.

He brushed a finger over the spot where his sidearm injured her. “Still painful?”

“A bit tender.”

Guilt stabbed through him as he straightened and shoved his hands into his pockets.

She cleared her throat. “Since we’re clearing the air, I should tell you that I asked my mother if she was missing a pearl stud earring.”

Ash gritted his teeth. “We haven’t released that information to?—”

She raised a hand. “My mother would never jeopardize your case by discussing it with anyone. She understands the value of some secrets.”

“All it takes is one misplaced word to the wrong person.”

“She wore her studs two days ago, after Vicky’s murder.”

“What about yours?”

“I don’t own studs, exactly, but the pearls I have are still in my jewelry case.”

He lifted his chin, stretching the tension from his neck, as he stared at the sky. “We got a hit on the earring.”

“What exactly do you mean by ‘hit’?”

Lowering his gaze, he said, “Patsy located a record for an ex-con who liked to break into his target’s home, steal a piece of jewelry, and place it at the hit site a day or two before he killed his target. If anyone found the jewelry before the hit, he took it as a sign from God to abort the mission.”

“It’s plausible he could have stolen the pearl earring from Vicky and planted it before the benefit.”

“The task force hasn’t been able to verify if the governor was missing an earring.”

“What’s the ex-con’s name?”

Ash hesitated a moment, then recalled the scanned newspaper articles Patsy had shown him. Knowing the lobbyist, she’d just google the details he’d already shared with her and come up with a name. “Seb Grimball. Familiar?”

She shook her head. “How many missions did he abort?”

“Zero.”

“You think this man is Vicky’s’ shooter?”

“Anything is possible. According to Patsy, he was released from prison a year ago after spending the last three decades behind bars. Maybe something triggered him and he went back to killing.”

“Thirty years? How old is he?”

“Sixty-one.”

“Wouldn’t he have lost his . . . skillset after being dormant for so long?”

“He’s had a year to hone it back into shape.”

---